Companies House is the most generous company register in the English-speaking world. It is free, it covers 4.8 million active and dissolved companies, and unlike Delaware it tells you who owns the business.
It also tells you, in its own words, that it does not check whether any of that is true.
Both facts matter. This is how to search the register properly, what each part of a company record actually proves, and where the data stops being reliable.
| Companies House (UK) | Delaware (US) | |
|---|---|---|
| Company name | Free | Free |
| Company / file number | Free | Free |
| Incorporation date | Free | Free |
| Registered office / agent | Registered office | Registered agent only |
| Current directors | Free | Never filed |
| Resigned directors | Free | Never filed |
| Beneficial owners | PSC register, free | Never filed |
| Members / shareholders | Confirmation statement | Never filed |
| Annual accounts | Free PDFs | Not collected |
| Filing history | Free PDFs | Not in the free search |
| Charges over assets | Free | Not in the free search |
| Insolvency | Free | Not in the free search |
The official service, and the ones pretending to be it
The register is at find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk, officially called "Find and update company information".
It is free, needs no account, and is generally available around the clock.
Everything else you will meet on this query is either a formation agent or a data reseller. They query the same public data. Some add useful presentation. None of them have information Companies House does not.
One structural detail worth knowing: the UK has three registrars, Cardiff for England and Wales, Edinburgh for Scotland, and Belfast for Northern Ireland. They feed one searchable register.
The three ways to search
| Search by | What it is good for |
|---|---|
| Company name | The obvious route. Partial names work |
| Company number | Eight digits. Never changes, even after a name change |
| Officer name | The most powerful and least used. Returns every current and former directorship for a person |
There is also an advanced search, which lets you filter by incorporation date, SIC code, location and company status. It is the tool to use when you are mapping a sector rather than checking one company.
Why officer search is the real feature
Searching a person rather than a company changes what you can see.
Enter a director's name and you get every company they are currently attached to, and every one they have resigned from. That turns a single name into a network: shared addresses, repeated co-directors, a trail of dissolved companies.
It is why Companies House appears in Bellingcat's open source investigation toolkit rather than only in accountancy guides.
What a company record actually contains
| Section | What you get |
|---|---|
| Overview | Company type, status, registered office, incorporation date |
| Nature of business | SIC codes |
| Filing history | Every document filed, with free PDF downloads |
| Accounts | Annual accounts as filed, and the next due date |
| People | Current officers, resigned officers, and persons with significant control |
| Charges | Mortgages and security granted over company assets |
| Insolvency | Insolvency proceedings where they exist |
| Previous names | Former company names |
Two of those deserve their own section.
Filing history is free, and it is the good part
Annual accounts, confirmation statements, certificates of incorporation, changes of officers: all downloadable as PDFs, at no cost.
This is where the register moves from "confirming a company exists" to "understanding what it has been doing". A five year run of accounts tells you more than any summary page.
People, and the limit of that word
The People section lists directors, secretaries, and persons with significant control. PSCs are the beneficial owners: anyone holding more than 25% of shares or voting rights, or exercising significant influence.
That is genuinely more than most registers publish. But read the next section before you rely on it.
The disclaimer nobody quotes
Companies House states it directly:
Companies House does not check the accuracy of the information filed.
And in its own guidance:
The information available on our Find and update company information service is not intended to be comprehensive.
Companies House cannot take any responsibility for the consequences of errors or omissions.
It also explains why. The volume of documents means "a close review of each document during registration is not always possible", and the basic checks performed on accounts confirm that a document is present and authenticated, not that it complies with accounting standards.
What that means for PSC data specifically
Persons with significant control are self-declared. A company has a statutory duty to identify and report anyone above the 25% threshold. The registrar cannot independently verify that they did.
So the People section tells you what a company has said about its ownership. It does not tell you that the statement is complete.
For most counterparties that is fine. For a counterparty you have a reason to doubt, it is a starting point, not a conclusion.
What changed on 18 November 2025
Identity verification became mandatory under the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act.
New directors must verify their identity before appointment. Existing directors verify within 14 days of their company's confirmation statement date. People with significant control follow their own timetable during the transition period.
Acting as a director without having verified is a criminal offence, and the company also commits an offence if it allows it.
This does not make filed data accurate. It does make it much harder to sit behind a fictitious name, which is a different and useful thing. When reading a record in 2026, check whether the officers have been through verification: an unverified director on a recently incorporated company is now a question worth asking.
Dissolved companies
The register keeps them, and the retention rule is specific:
we'll continue to keep records of dissolved companies for 20 years from the date of dissolution.
Records of companies dissolved since January 2010 are held in the service. Previously they were removed after six years.
For due diligence this is one of the most useful features of the whole register. A director with four dissolved companies behind them is a pattern you can only see because the records survive.
The Follow service
Free, and almost nobody uses it.
You can follow any company and receive an email the moment it files something. The alert includes a link to the filing history, and the document is downloadable at no cost.
If you are monitoring a supplier, a competitor, or a counterparty mid-negotiation, this replaces checking the register manually. Set it once.
How to read a record in five minutes
| Order | What to check | What it tells you |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Company status | Active, dissolved, in liquidation. Stop here if it is not what you expected |
| 2 | Incorporation date | A company incorporated three weeks ago is not an established supplier |
| 3 | Registered office | A formation agent address is normal, not damning. A residential address on a large contract is a question |
| 4 | Accounts, next due date | Overdue accounts are the cheapest red flag available |
| 5 | People, including resigned | Rapid director turnover is a pattern |
| 6 | Charges | Existing security over assets changes what you are actually contracting with |
| 7 | Filing history | The full narrative, and where anything odd will show |
When the company does not come up
The name is slightly different. Trading names are not company names. The business you know as "Northgate Coffee" may be registered as something else entirely. Search the shortest distinctive root.
It is a sole trader or a partnership. Neither is registered at Companies House. There is no record because there is no company.
It is dissolved and old. Dissolved before January 2010, it may not be in the service.
It is registered elsewhere. A company operating in the UK can be incorporated abroad. Look for a UK establishment registration instead.
The summary
| You want to | Answer |
|---|---|
| Confirm a UK company exists | ✅ Free, by name or number |
| See who the directors are | ✅ Current and resigned |
| See who owns it | ✅ PSC section, self-declared |
| Download the accounts | ✅ Free PDFs in filing history |
| See every company a person runs | ✅ Officer search |
| See past dissolved companies | ✅ 20 years from dissolution |
| Get alerts on new filings | ✅ Follow service, free |
| Rely on the data as verified | ❌ Companies House does not check accuracy |
Frequently asked questions
Is Companies House search free?
Yes. Searching the register, viewing company records and downloading filed documents are all free, with no account required.
Can you find out who owns a UK company?
Largely yes. The People section lists persons with significant control, meaning anyone holding more than 25% of shares or voting rights, or exercising significant influence. The data is self-declared by the company, and Companies House does not independently verify it.
How do I search for a director?
Use the officer name search. It returns every current and former directorship associated with that person, which is the most useful investigative feature of the register.
Does Companies House check the information companies file?
No. Companies House states that it does not check the accuracy of the information filed, that the service is not intended to be comprehensive, and that it cannot take responsibility for errors or omissions.
How long are dissolved company records kept?
Twenty years from the date of dissolution. Records of companies dissolved since January 2010 are held in the service, having previously been removed after six years.
Are company accounts free to download?
Yes. Annual accounts, confirmation statements and other filed documents are available as free PDF downloads in the filing history.
What is the Follow service?
A free email alert. You follow a company and receive a notification the moment it files anything, with a link to download the document.
What changed with identity verification?
Since 18 November 2025, directors and persons with significant control must verify their identity with Companies House. New directors verify before appointment; existing directors within 14 days of their confirmation statement date. Acting as an unverified director is a criminal offence.
Why can I not find a business on Companies House?
It may be a sole trader or partnership, which are not registered there. It may trade under a name different from its registered name. It may be incorporated abroad. Or it may have been dissolved before January 2010.
Does Companies House show the same information as the Delaware register?
No, and the gap is large. Companies House publishes directors, beneficial owners, accounts and filing history. The Delaware entity search shows the registered agent and never the members, managers, officers or shareholders.
Sources
- Companies House: Find and update company information
- GOV.UK: Searching the Companies House register
- Companies House: identity verification (ECCTA)
Search behaviour, available fields, the Follow service, the dissolved company retention rule and the accuracy disclaimers are quoted from Companies House and GOV.UK guidance consulted in August 2026. Identity verification requirements reflect the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 as implemented from 18 November 2025. This is informational, not legal advice.